Christmas Gifts

After the advent of the personal computer in the 1980’s, it became possible to print Personalized Kids Books that included the child’s name. These books became more sophisticated until today they include many details about the child including events from his life.

One company offers books for children of African American descent that are built around this theme. The parents can submit the name of their son or daughter and several of their friends. The child can then read the customized story and see pictures of children who look somewhat like they do and the kids in their crowd.

In these books, children celebrate Christmas and Kwanza and learn the tradition and meaning of both holidays. In another, the child goes to dreamland and meets African American heroes from history.

Other books use characters from popular television shows or movies. These are known as licensed books. The child can participate in an adventure with Dora the Explorer or with their favorite Disney character.

Closely associated, are the Personalized Kids Books that feature the child as a comic book character. The child becomes a small super hero and helps famous characters like Batman and Robin fight crime.

They can fly with Superman or solve a crime with the gang from Scooby Doo. A smaller child would be delighted to spend a day on Sesame Street or join Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny in a Looney Tune story.

The original Personalized Kids Book is the baby book. Back in primitive times when people wrote things down with pen or pencil, baby books contained sentences with blank lines for the proud parents to write in details.

A line drawing of a happy, kicking baby was followed by a sentence like, “I arrived on _____. My parents named me______” Today these books can be ordered with all of the pertinent information filled in, no longer despoiled by a proud parent’s scrawling hand.

From babyhood to preteen and teen stories these Personalized Kids Books can become a library of memories documenting a child’s real or fantasy life. They should instill in a child a love of reading, or at least a love of books.

Most websites that offer these books also have personalized music for sale. It is only a matter of time until these two technologies are combined so that a little reader can watch the page and hear the story of his personal day in Disneyland read aloud to him by the book itself.

All of these books are reasonably priced, selling for about the same amount as similar-quality non-personalized books. Hundreds of titles are currently available from many different companies. One company has even partnered with companies like, Nestle Chocolate to carry some internal advertising and bring the price down still further.

These affordable books are a gateway to lead the child into a world of reading. Most of them contain information about the child’s heritage or history.

Not only do Personalized Kids Books impart reading skill and knowledge, they raise a child’s self-esteem by making them a star in a high quality venue. They are a great tool for parents and a precious experience for children.